This invention relates generally to video games and more particularly to video game controllers.
There have been significant advances made in the realism of video games. Several factors have contributed to this increased realism. The availability of high-performance, low-cost computer hardware has driven this trend. The performance of personal computers continues to increase at a rapid rate while at the same time the cost of these computers continues to fall. The performance has in turn been driven by advances in microprocessor and memory designs. The clock rates of modern microprocessors, the heart of all personal computers, are now well in excess of 100 MHz. These speeds allow personal computers to process more and more data, which is particularly important in such graphic intensive applications as video games. In addition, dynamic random access memory (DRAM) densities continue to increase. Another driving force has been the improvements in software techniques, particularly in the area of graphics. New algorithms allow for real-time manipulation of large amounts of data.
One of the most important factors that has contributed to the realism of video games is the availability of realistic controllers for these video games. In the past, most control of these video games was done via the computer keyboard. Using the computer keyboard, the user was required to input a particular keystroke or number of keystrokes to produce the desired response of the video game. This technique was used for almost all personal computer-based video games such as flight simulators, racing simulators, golf simulators, and pinball machine simulators. Since that time, there have been significant advancements in the area of game controllers. For flight simulators, Thrustmaster, Inc., of Portland, Oreg., has developed an array of realistic game controllers as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,396,267 and 5,389,950. Those controllers include a joystick modelled after the F16 fighter stick, which includes a multiplicity of hand-actuated switches, a split throttle controller that controls the thrust of the plane, and even a set of rudder control pedals that are controlled by the user's feet. All these controllers connect directly to the personal computer either through the keyboard port or the industry-standard game port of the personal computer, or both. These controllers have added significantly to the realism of flight simulator video games because they provide the user with the same controls that would be used in an actual plane.
The joystick and throttle have replaced the keyboard as the preferred input mechanism for many video games besides flight simulators. Although designed primarily for flight simulator video games, the joystick is sufficiently realistic for certain other games such as car racing simulators or motorcycle racing simulators.
The joystick and throttle are not realistic, however, for many other video games such as golf simulators or pinball machine simulators. As a result, users still must rely on the keyboard as a primary control device for these video games. This detracts significantly from the realism of the game.
Designing a realistic game controller for a pinball machine simulator presents some unique problems not encountered by either the joystick or the throttle controllers for flight simulators. As most pinball machine players know, the machine can withstand a certain amount of movement caused by the user during play. Such movement is referred to as "slide." If the user applies too much force to the pinball machine, however, this will cause a "tilt" condition which typically shuts down the machine. This feature permits a certain amount of body English to be used without permitting the user to dominate the machine by excessive force. The tilt condition is typically detected using a pendulum hanging down between an annular ring. If no force is applied to the machine, the ring and pendulum maintain a certain spacing. When force is applied to the machine, the ring moves toward the pendulum. If too much force is applied, the ring will actually touch the pendulum thereby creating a short circuit between the pendulum and the ring. The short circuit results in a tilt condition.
This technique of detecting "slide" and "tilt" cannot readily be adapted to a video game controller. The pendulum approach provides only two conditions: tilt and no tilt. The pendulum does not provide any information about the permissible slide. Instead, the body English is conveyed to the machine through the actual movement of the pinball machine. Therefore, although the pendulum approach could be incorporated into a video game controller to provide tilt/no tilt information to the computer, a different approach must be taken to provide the slide information.
Some video game manufacturers have tried to simulate "slide" by providing a keystroke such as the spacebar, which simulates a predetermined force being applied to the machine. There are several problems with this approach. First, it is not kinetically realistic, which is the goal of a simulator. The amount of force applied by the video game is not a function of the amount of force applied to the keyboard; instead, it is a function of the number of keystrokes applied within a given period of time. Second, there is little control over the directionality of the force applied. A given keystroke applies the same force in the same direction each time.
Accordingly, a need remains for a pinball machine controller for a video pinball machine simulation program running on a personal computer that provides the computer with not only tilt/no tilt information but also slide information.